Red Cross names executive director

Two area chapters of the American Red Cross now have the same “face in the community,” an appointment made under a nationwide reorganization aimed at streamlining the charity’s operations.

The nonprofit named Christopher Knight as executive director of the Texas Panhandle Red Cross, headquartered in Amarillo, and the Eastern Texas Panhandle Chapter, based in Pampa, said Leslie Palmer, chief executive officer of the Red Cross’ North Texas Region.

“There are 11 managers in this region and there will remain 11 chapters in this region. They may be co-managed, but we’re not taking away that local identity,” Palmer said. “Chris’ role will be the point person, to be the (Red Cross) face in the community.”

Knight, whose background is primarily in radio and television ad sales, started two weeks ago with training in Dallas and Washington, D.C. He began working out of the Amarillo office last week, he said.

The reorganization includes the addition of Melissa Benson as major gifts officer and the hiring of part-time office coordinator Darla Friemel.

The Amarillo-based chapter had been without an executive director and fundraising officer for about six months.

Former Executive Director Vicky Richmond and Director of Development Susan Ginn left in May, two months after questions arose regarding distribution of $282,000 the chapter raised to help victims and emergency responders to the Feb. 27 wildfires that destroyed 70 Potter and Randall county homes.

In September, Palmer said Richmond’s and Ginn’s decisions to leave were personal and unrelated to questions regarding wildfire relief contributions.

The chapter spent less than half of the money it raised for victim and emergency responder support, agency officials said in September.

An estimated $119,000 went to provide water and food to emergency personnel, and water, food and shelter to families displaced by the fires in Potter and Randall Counties, said former interim executive director Brian Jensen. Jensen said in September that the national Red Cross leadership is “pushing transparency” and efficiency in the reorganization.

The Red Cross is not a long-term recovery agency, so the scope of its services is limited to filling the immediate needs of those it assists, Jensen said.

The agency spent another $60,000 of its wildfire donations to restock the chapter for future disasters. The remainder went in a fund dedicated to disaster relief within the chapter’s coverage area, agency officials said in September.

Knight said he understands the Red Cross replaced an “antiquated” system.

“The Red Cross is going through some big changes right now, and with that comes big challenges,” he said. “But what the organization is doing is going to position the Red Cross to be stronger, more responsive and more community-minded.”

Accounting, human resources and other office functions will be handled at the regional level, helping the Red Cross to utilize donor dollars more wisely, Palmer said.

Before accepting the Red Cross post, Knight worked for KVII-TV in sales and management and at Momentum and Partners, an Amarillo radio business. He left KVII in January 2011 as a local vice president sales manager, according to his resume, which outlines a career of 28 years in television and radio, plus other sales positions. He graduated from Kansas State University in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Knight will work out of both the Amarillo office at 1800 S. Harrison St. and the office in Pampa.

Benson will begin work next week, Knight said. She currently is an advertising sales manager for the Amarillo Globe-News.

Friemel started in late October. She previously worked 10 years as a nursery manager at St. Stephen United Methodist Church, began her association with the Red Cross as a volunteer and will continue volunteering, she said.

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